NEWSLETTER
In the aftermath of this weekend’s Cubs-Reds drama (which was almost entirely created by the Reds), one of the Reds’ post-game broadcasters on Fox Sports Ohio took the opportunity to bust out some shots at the Cubs.
“[The Cubs] are a little bit entitled. That’s my opinion,” former pitcher Danny Graves said of what happened. “I feel like when it doesn’t go their way, they have something to say. So then when the Reds, or anybody else in baseball, fight back or jump back at them? They start crying a little bit more. That’s how I see it and I think a lot of other people see it, too. [The Cubs are] not entitled. They think they are. They think that they’re America’s team, but they’re not. They’re really not.”
So what's really going on between the Reds and Cubs?@dgravy32 offers a player's perspective.#TakeTheCentral pic.twitter.com/NWIsfBWHnp
— FOX Sports Cincinnati (@FOXSportsCincy) August 30, 2020
A reminder of what actually happened:
So how did this all go down? By my count, you had the Cubs chirping at Antone in the dugout, which he can hear clearly because of the lack of fans. Then you had Antone grunting back at them, and then throwing at Rizzo’s head. Ross gets ejected because he believes it was clearly intentionally. Then you had a pitch go high against Shogo Akiyama (but over the plate – it was just high), which got Bell and the Reds shouting. Rizzo responded at first base. Then Joey Votto and Jesse Winker came out, clearing the benches, and getting themselves (and Bell) booted.
Maybe you can criticize the Cubs for the initial “chirping,” but that’s pretty mild compared to a pitch thrown at a head and guys coming out onto the field in the pandemic season. Reds didn’t come off looking like angels in this one.
I don’t think the Cubs think they’re America’s team, or that they cry more than any other team. Instead, I think Reds broadcasters have – for a very long time – have harbored a lot of frustration that Cubs fans fill up their ballpark every year when the Cubs are in town. There’s a bit of an inferiority complex there, given that the Reds were the first team in pro baseball history (the Cubs were the second), and I don’t think they love all the attention the Cubs get in the Midwest, *AND* I don’t think they like that the Cubs view the Cardinals, Brewers, and even White Sox as bigger rivals.
That is, as Graves said, just my opinion.
